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Air travel information:

FLYING TO VIETNAM FROM THE WEST COAST OF THE US: Most airlines leave in the mid-night, early AM hours and invlove a plane change in Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, or Seoul.  Hong Kong is the best place to layover.  Flights from SFO are around 14 hours, and then it is only 2 hours to Vietnam after your (usually brief) layover in the beautiful Hong Kong Airport.  A flight leaving SFO 12:15 AM on the 1st will arrive in Saigon or Hanoi around 10 AM on the 2nd.  This means you'll need to plan to get to the airport the night before the 1st.  United airlines has a flight leaving SFO around 11 AM and arriving in Saigon the next day around 11 PM. We prefer the flights that leave at night because you can sleep half your flight away...

We are happy to arrange your air travel--as long as you are traveling on one of our tours or on our self-guided option.  We work with consolidators who can offer excellent prices, but we are not an air ticketing agency and thus we cannot book flights for independent travelers.  If you want to check fares out yourself, we have included some helpful links. Just click on the images to the right.

For travel from the West Coast to Vietnam, we highly recommend Cathay Pacific Airlines.  A British owned airline, they offer superior service and professionalism, and they have the best connections through Hong Kong.  The Hong Kong airport is like a shopping mall. You can get massages there, too!  Cathay is also a partner with American Airlines if you are looking to accrue a lot of miles.

The cheapest fares tend to be on China Airlines, but they are routed through Taipei, a grim place for a layover (and you get what you pay for).  We have not flown Eva Air, but we have heard they are OK and have an amazing deal in which you can upgrade to business class for $100 (if seats are available at the last minute).

If you want to fly on United, they recently added direct service from SFO to Saigon, but it is not truly direct.  They stop in Hong Kong to refuel and it ends up taking the same amount of time as on Cathay Pacific.  Japan Airlines offers good routing to Saigon and Hanoi, and they partner with American if you are looking to accrue miles.

A typical economy fare from SFO to Saigon is around $1300 if you purchase well in advance.  The best deals we have seen have been as low as $750, but the system is constantly changing...  Please beware of ultra cheap sources such as Sky Auction.  People have found incredibly low fares there, but others have been badly burned. 

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If you have any questions, please email us at:
TAOguides@sbcglobal.net